Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I have paid my fee and I have my certificate to practice but I am not practising because I am too busy in the Seanad. The Leader will not have much time today because of all the votes.

I am familiar with septic tanks because I designed many houses. Septic tanks are an imperfect science. They were built during difficult times and if the environment was right they worked very well. In some areas they did not work well. It is a question of separating wastewater coming from baths and taps into a septic tank. In the majority of areas they operate very effectively.

I accept the greatest difficulties we have are close to sources of water servicing towns and villages. It is obvious those situations would have to be examined. The Minister said he could not anticipate what funds would be available in four or five years' time. He said he would be very well disposed to funds being made available if a large bill was imposed on a small minority of people.

I am very conscious of protecting the water supply on my farm. We do not have a pump but we have facilities for water extraction. I understand Ballygowen has frozen all the land surrounding its well in County Limerick for safety purposes. A small operation was built quite close to septic tanks and extracted water for sale. It can be risky. The charge is causing concern and people are very worried.

The charge has come about because of a European directive which did not get enough debate in this House. There is not enough scrutiny of European legislation. It has created a problem with bogs. I accept the Minister has responsibility for this area. He transferred responsibility to the county councils. He said he does not see many inspectors being appointed.

As former county councillor I have a lot of faith in local engineers, sanitary engineers and other qualified technicians who are in a position to examine septic tanks. The number of planning permissions has reduced dramatically. The Minister can see that in his Department. He can get a report in the morning from Kilkenny and compare the numbers for 2011 to 2008 or 2007. A number of staff are now underutilised and would be well qualified to carry out inspections when required.

I do not think every septic tank can be inspected but inspections can be carried out if needed. If trained personnel are not available inspectors could be employed. Inspections shouldbe carried out within each local authority because there is a surplus of qualified people. I would appreciate if the Minister considered that suggestion.

Councillors in Roscommon approached me about the Minister's comments on Second Stage that he would exempt any septic tank which had to be upgraded from planning permission, which is welcome. We need to make sure this is not tied down with bureaucracy and makes things more difficult for those who are affected. We would prefer if the Bill was not required but it is. I have confidence, from dealing with my local authority over the years, that inspectors will be able to operate. They would have a different role to play than local authority staff who know their areas very well.

If there are two septic tanks in an area one registration should be enough. I hope my colleague will include that in his amendment to the Bill. The situation is like that of the water troughs years ago. There are some exceptional circumstances where two septic tanks have been connected to one property, such as a granny flat. My point will save a lot of bureaucracy. A septic tank may have been upgraded and the old one left in place.

A person should not be prosecuted because he or she did not register two septic tanks, especially where a house is being extended to accommodate a granny flat. In many cases I recommended such families install a second septic tank to take the pressure off the first. Adequate property around the house is needed for such situations. Most houses have only one septic tank.

Some of the septic tanks installed today are far better than those in the past and are made from PVC and have different chambers. They are more effective than the older ones. People installing septic tanks are now are very conscious of the prevailing situation. We should strive to make the best of this Bill. My colleague is doing his best to pass amendments which would benefit our constituents.

We have constituents in rural Ireland and this will become a major issue in the 2014 elections. It will be like the land tax proposed by Fine Gael in 1979. It did not go down well then. This is a tax on rural Ireland.